GET INSPIRED
JEN MACNEIL decided to do something new every day from her twenty-ninth to her thirtieth birthday …
Trimming a bonsai plant.
Why did you decide to start In The New?
I was looking for an interesting way to ring in my thirties. My twenties were very interesting and productive, and I wanted to send them out with a bang. And I wanted to do something more original than skydiving. Since I couldn’t settle on just one thing to do, I decided to do something every day.
On average, how much time did you spend doing these new things?
On average, about an hour. It got to where I would decide on something as much as a week in advance, prepare for it, then bang it out in twenty minutes.
Had you tried making a yearlong project before?
The only other yearlong thing I tried before was to read a “classic” novel every week. That lasted about a month, mostly because I didn’t faithfully blog about it, so I didn’t have that need to be accountable to anyone besides myself.
What did you expect to get from this experience?
I just wanted to finish my twenties in an awesome way, and I absolutely met that goal. Aside from experiencing 366 (leap year!) new and awesome things, the outpouring of support, the media attention, and the friends I made were overwhelming.
What have you learned about yourself in the process of doing this?
That I can accomplish anything, that crickets are actually a really good snack, and that I could never be a farmer, because castrating calves is kind of traumatic.
“I visited a farm for a weekend and cut honey out of a live apiary. The bees were sort of scary, but fresh honey is really delicious.”
“I borrowed a saxophone to play on a subway platform. At first it sounded like a lot of farting. Later, it still sounded like a lot of farting, but I was pretty passionate about it, and it turned out to be tons of fun.” Kevin Danenberg | www.kevindanenberg.com
How did you stay inspired?
I kept notes, had a day planner full of Post-its, asked people for ideas, and kept in mind that if I didn’t blog every day, I would be disappointing someone else.
Do you think you will ever commit to doing another yearlong project?
Definitely. This particular project proved that I can commit to something like this, but as I get to an age where I’m thinking about having kids, it maybe seemed a bit selfish. The next time I do another project like this, it will be to teach someone else.
Any advice for people considering starting their own yearlong project?
Start in your comfort zone, then gradually move out of it. Don’t shoot for huge things right away. As you get into a groove of doing something on a regular basis, you’ll know when to expand your realm and take more risks. And find a way to share it with other people, whether it’s a blog everyone can see, or regular e-mails to a few people. Having that kind of accountability, and knowing other people are watching you, will keep you on task.
Anya Garrett
Jen MacNeil is a performer and a freelance writer with a master’s in journalism and a craving for the unusual. She has been a tube vocalist for Blue Man Group, a contestant on Who Wants to be a Millionaire? and a movie extra, and maintains the blog In the New which detailed her quest to do one new thing every day for an entire year.
Make a word out of objects in your environment or with letters found in natural formations outside.
Create something on a T-shirt and wear it for the rest of the day.
Make something surreal. (Look up the art of Magritte or Dali online or at the library for some inspiration.)
Reinterpret your favorite childhood story.
Make a rubbing by placing paper over rough objects and using charcoal or chalk to pick up the details. Gravestones are the classic source for this technique.
Create a life-size person using your clothes and/or whatever else you have at hand.
Look at the morning sky when you first get up today and make something inspired by what you see.
Make something inspired by a fictional character. Maybe it looks like them, or perhaps it’s something they might own, or … ?
Make something that will decay over time and document it until it’s gone (or too smelly to keep).
Create a rebus. Bonus: Try using real objects instead of drawings of them.
Make a paper pop-up. A simple pattern can be found on page 236.
Cut holes in the pages of a magazine or book so that what you reveal beneath creates something new.
Make something in which the sense of taste is the essential component.
Use your feet as your hands and/or your hands as your feet as part of whatever you do today.
Make something incongruous. Use an unexpected material to make something familiar (a feather made of wood, a stool made of sponges, and so on).
Create a visual definition for a word chosen randomly from a dictionary. Try choosing a word you don’t already know!
Make something inspired by your favorite movie.
Purple people eater. Work only with purple materials today. Try working on a purple surface for a real challenge.
Work with all the utensils you own today.
Make something inspired by and/or that fits on or around a nose (yours or someone else’s).
Work with crayons. You can mold them, melt them, grate them, color with them, or … ?
Create a working Rube Goldberg machine.
Make something light seem heavy.
Create a simple board game and play it, ideally with friends.
Use fingerprints/thumbprints to create an image or portrait.
Work only with toilet paper tubes and/or paper towel tubes today.
Make something that’s strong enough to support your own weight and stand on it.
Work with homonyms today (bear/bare, night/knight, sail/sale).
Use makeup—yours or borrowed, everyday or costume. You can work on skin, paper, or a nontraditional material.
Make a kit for an activity that normally wouldn’t need one.
Work with an old calendar or make something into a calendar.
Create a trap. Think about what you’d want to catch and make something appropriate. It doesn’t necessarily have to function or be designed to catch a real thing.